Syracuse, NY -- For 37 years, Andy Boucounis has built one of the best-known wholesale food businesses in Syracuse, notable for being the supplier to such restaurants as Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Empire Brewing Co.

Now Boucounis wants customers without that kind of buying power to know that they, too, can shop Andy's Produce for the fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy, canned goods, breads, spices and even paper products that he carries.

Actually, it's more correct to say that Andy's reopened its retail operation, since Boucounis had tried it for the first five years after he relocated there in 1995 from the Central New York Regional Market.

"Even after we stopped, 11 years after we stopped, we still had people coming in for the retail," he said. "It was hard to do what we're doing in a warehouse this size and find a lady a head of lettuce or a couple of green peppers."

So Boucounis reconfigured his space, to allow customers to select fruit and veggies from the retail display, and find other items on the shelves or by checking the whiteboard to see what may be lurking in the warehouse.

"Whatever we have, the things we have for our restaurant customers, we'll sell," Boucounis said.

That means you may have to buy in bulk, but you get a good deal, he said.

The produce can be purchased in small amounts, of course. But if, for example, you want some smoked paprika, you'll have to settle for a 20-ounce package. At $10.25, it's still a deal even if you throw some away.

Boucounis says he buys as much from local producers as he can, such as eggs from Hudson Farms in Elbridge. He also carries the full line of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que spices, sauces and marinades.

He currently has about 400 wholesale customers, and has picked up business from the restaurants opening in the nearby Destiny USA.

On busy mornings -- the docks open before down -- it can get hectic in the back end of warehouse, with deliveries from farms and suppliers coming in while outgoing trucks load up to head to the restaurants.

By mid-morning, though, the rush is over. The retail shop's hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.